Food Labels and the FDA

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Reference Daily Intake(RDI) and Percent Daily Value (%DV) Food labels provide information on the nutritional value of food products and compares them to the standards established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). RDI is the number amount recommended for each nutrient in daily consumption. %DV represents the amount of the nutrients a food provides of the days total RDI. Food labels have recently been updated to have even more useful information regarding content. The label has everything important about the foodhow big a serving is, how many calories, fats, saturated fats, carbohydrates including sugars and fiber, protein, and vitamin and mineral content it contains. The content is listed not only in gram amount, but also as a percent of the recommended amount (%DV) for an average 2,000-calorie diet based on 60 percent energy from carbohydrates, 10 percent from protein, and 30 percent from fats. (Note these are higher in fat content and lower in protein than the recommended athletic diet.) This 2,000-calorie diet is an established norm that is the basis for the RDI (formerly called the RDA), nutrient values recommended for the average American man and woman.

To compare the FDA's recommended diet with that recommended for you as a healthy athletic woman, as described in the previous section, you should double the amount of protein, lower the amount of fat, and increase the amount of calcium by half. Regarding vitamin and mineral recommendations, the FDA's RDIs are slightly low for folate, iron, and calcium. As is shown in the following chart, this can be corrected by taking a daily multivitamin. If you eat a well-balanced diet, a regular multivitamin will do fine, or you can choose from the many brands of multivitamins marketed for women, which have slightly more iron, folate, and calcium, or multivitamins marketed for "stress," or "performance," which have increased amounts of B vitamins. Being aware of recommended doses not only keeps you healthy, but also will prevent toxic vitamin overdoses.

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